Apples and Oranges Fresh Market will serve as the host location for a new Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative sponsored by a local group of restaurateurs. The event, to be held on June 22nd from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. will be sponsored by SKIPP, a restaurant and hospitality group that has partnered with the owners of Apples and Oranges Fresh Market to teach members of the community about the importance of healthy eating. The members of SKIPP will offer food demonstrations to neighbors in the community, with chefs creating some of their favorite health conscious dishes served from tables to be set up in the parking lot of the Market. The initiative will continue on a weekly basis, as the Market will host one restaurant each Saturday who will create healthful recipes from its menu, and offer the recipe to attendees so they can create it at home. Ingredients for the dishes created during for these demonstrations will be available for purchase at Apples and Oranges Fresh Market. “Apples and Oranges Fresh Market has already established itself as a strong voice in community emphasizing the importance of eating fresh foods,” said Casey Jenkins, executive chef and owner of Darker Than Blue Cafe on Greenmount Avenue who is also Vice Chairperson of the event. He SKIPP, which stands for Shop Keepers Individual Procurement Program, was formed to assist local small businesses to procure safe, high-quality goods and services needed to run their businesses competitively, thereby yielding the benefits of buying as a collective. Other members of SKIPP and participants in the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative include The Land of Kush Restaurant on Eutaw Street, and Phase 10 Restaurant on Howard Street in Mt. Vernon. For a full list of participating restaurants and featured recipes, go to www. http://www.applesandorangesmarket.com/healthy-neighborhoods-initiative.html. “So we want to give back to Apples and Oranges Fresh Market and the people in this East Baltimore Neighborhood by bringing them weekly 2 hour cooking demonstrations featuring healthy dishes prepared by the chef of that restaurant,” Jenkins continued. These weekly demonstrations will continue through July 13th. All of the dishes prepared during the event will be free of charge. Apples and Oranges Fresh Market owners Erich March and Michele Speaks-March say they are delighted by the formation of this partnership with SKIPP and they are honored by the fact that this group of business owners has made the decision to give back to their grocery store and to the surrounding East Baltimore Community. “We knew that a part of the mission of Apples and Oranges Fresh Market would include educating our community not only on the importance of eating healthy foods, but also the importance of using these healthy foods to prepare healthier meals for their families,” says Speaks-March. “Food preparation plays a big role in the health of a meal.” “So we could not be more thrilled that SKIPP has chosen to sow into the East Baltimore community through our store and to educate our neighbors while echoing our message of providing better food for a better community.” Apples and Oranges Fresh Market is a full service grocery store providing healthy food options in the following categories: produce, deli, fresh bread, and prepared foods.For more information on Apples and Oranges Fresh Market go towww.applesandorangesmarket.com. Or call 410-235-2900. For more information on the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative, including participating restaurants, a schedule of food demonstrations and featured recipes go to http://www.applesandorangesmarket.com/healthy-neighborhoods-initiative.html.

(Baltimore, MD - February 27, 2013) A new full service grocery store located in the heart of the East Baltimore community, will open its doors next month. The store, named “Apples and Oranges Fresh Market,” will open to the public at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 9th with a ribbon cutting attended by local politicians and community leaders. Located at 1900 N. Broadway Street, the store will offer fresh and healthy food options. Apples and Oranges Fresh Market boasts 5,600 square feet of retail space, and features fresh produce, fresh dairy, meats, frozen foods and a deli. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be offered as well as a robust prepared foods menu and catering. Baltimore politicians and community leaders say the market will bring more than fresh food to the East Baltimore neighborhood. It will bring a healthier lifestyle. “The opening of Apples and Oranges Fresh Market is fantastic for East Baltimore,” says City Councilman, Carl Stokes. “This particular location is in the midst of a food desert,” he says. He points to food deserts being a challenge in underserved communities like this one. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), scientific studies have suggested that food deserts may negatively affect health outcomes. “The residents in this area will have a full service grocery within walking distance or a short drive from their homes that will give them access to wholesome fresh food and that will save them from using public transportation or excessive gas,” he says. Nina Harper, Executive Director of The Oliver Community Association says: “We are often very concerned about the health of our residents.” Gaining access to fresh foods can be a slippery slope for the residents of the three buildings in her community. Many of them are elderly and have limited to transportation. “We need access to healthy food.” The market is being brought to East Baltimore by businessman and community leader, Erich W. March, Vice President and General Manager of March Funeral Homes, a nationally recognized family-owned business that has operated in East Baltimore for nearly 60 years, and his wife, Michele Speaks-March, a long time development professional who has conducted successful fundraising campaigns for a variety of organizations, including that of Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills.

The owners are positioning their market as one that will not only offer healthier food options, but one that will serve as a resource for information on how to eat healthier. Their store also includes an activity room where they will host speakers who will address a variety of topics, including how families can plan for healthy affordable meals. Apples and Oranges will serve as a healthier option for those working in the area near its North Broadway location. March and Speaks-March hope to communicate a sense of ownership in to the community and commerce centers in the area. “We want our customers to enjoy the fresh food we have to offer at Apples and Oranges Fresh Market,” says Speaks-March. “We also want them to regard our market as a resource for discussions about health and nutrition.” “Just as being in good health has a wholesale effect on an individual’s well being, we believe that providing a community with better food also leads to a healthier, happier community.” Stokes hopes that healthier community will translate into dollars one day as well. “The fact that this market is going into a site that has been vacant for the last decade gives a promise to other business ‘Investors – this is a viable neighborhood for the investment of dollars.’”

Apples and Oranges Fresh Market is a full service food market providing healthy food options in the following categories: produce, deli, fresh bread, and prepared foods.For more information on Apples and Oranges Fresh Market go towww.applesandorangesmarket.com. Or call 410-235-2900.

In Baltimore City, finding healthy food options can be much more challenging than finding unhealthy ones. Fast food restaurants can be found on every corner, yet healthy supermarkets are much fewer and far between.

We have brought Apples and Oranges Fresh Market to East Baltimore because the community has been underserved for many years. Healthy food options have just not persisted here with the kind of prevalence that is necessary to make a difference in the health of many people who live in and near the neighborhood. The lack of access to fresh food has far reaching ramifications - more obesity and more incidences of disease.

At Apples and Oranges Fresh Market, our mission is to provide better food for a better community. We do more than just offer people healthy food. We give people the tools necessary for the proper cooking of that food. We endeavor to engage them with recipes that will enhance their diets. And we encourage them to develop a love affair with good food.

Come by our store and learn more about our educational programs. Buy healthy and participate in our events. We are here to serve you, and to help you create your vision for a healthier family and ultimately, a better community.